Silent movies allow us to co-own the story

I'm probably one of few who hankers after silent movies.
This weekend my husband and I, and our 11 year old son, laughed and cried our way through The Gold Rush; one of Charlie Chaplin's most successful silent films. First made in 1925 the black and white film is a masterpiece of physical humor and pathos.

We watched both the original 1925 version and the one Chaplin edited and added narration to in 1942. All of us agreed that the original was a far more powerful piece of cinema.

A good story puts you right in the middle of the action. You feel like you are part of the drama. With silent film much of the interpretation is left up to you. You project your own thoughts and feelings (and words) onto the characters. You make the story part of your own experience - your own lexicon - and that is powerful. Powerful because once it becomes your story - you begin to integrate it into your belief system.

The same may be said of radio drama where you are encouraged to imagine an entire world based on conversations between people.
When people use storytelling in a corporate setting they offer listeners an opportunity to co-own a story - to make it their own. Replace the story with facts and figures and people struggle to make the story personal and integrate it with their belief systems.